Philippine Mango in Japan

Philippine Mango at 93 yen per piece. That's around 40 something pesos per piece.
Spotted in Kenzo Supermarket in Hanyu City, Saitama Prefecture.

Takeya 多慶屋

This was my second time to buy chocolates at Takeya. The ground floor of the shop is filled with so many imported goods from chocolates, snacks, and frozed products at a very low price. I bought 4,000 worth of chocolates and it was a real value. This place is a haven even for Japanese tourists touring Taito-ku area since there are many Kanko (sight-seeing) buses parked in the area. Access can either be at Naka-Okachimachi (仲御徒町) on the Toei Hibiya Subway Line (都営地下鉄日比谷線) or at JR Okachimachi (3 minutes on foot).

Okachimachi Products

Let's see how expensive Japanese goods/fruits are....

Dried large cuttlefish: 6,900 yen

L-R: Pears at 600 yen/4 pcs., Red and China Apples at 100 yen each,

I think these are China-produced bananas because they are cheap. Yes, approximately a dozen or less for 500 yen is already very cheap. Philippine Dole, Del Monte and Chiquitta imported bananas will cost around 250 yen for around 4-5 pieces.

Four pieces of skewered strawberries at 200 yen. While 1/8 sliced yellow/orange mellons for 200 yen a stick and pale white mellons of 1/8 slice for 100 yen. And a small slice of pineapples for 100 yen.

Sale

Taken at a street-side shop in Okachimachi, Ueno, Tokyo.

We Don't Do Foreign Currency Exchange

It means they do not do foreign currency exchange. Taken in Don Quixote, Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. This shop is most frequented by many foreigners like Brazilians and other Latinos, Chinese, Koreans, Indians and other Asians.

Foliage in Taisho University

Taken last Sunday at Taisho Daigaku in Sugamo, Tokyo after our stressful New JLPT Level 3 Mock Examination. Seen in the picture above are my fellow gaijins who took part in the exam leaving the campus. The entrance to the campus is dwarfed by these tall trees in their peak stage of foliage.

Foliage in Hanyu

Trees near the police station.

Trees beside the creek.

Shrubs beside the park in a nearby danchi (団地).

Trees in South Junior High School, where I presently teach.

Trees beside the school baseball field.

Mid November is the peak of foliage for the Kanto Region in Japan.

Gyoda Oshi Castle (行田忍城 / Gyoudaoshijyou)

Oshi Castle (Oshi-jo) was built by the daimyo Narita Akiyasu near the end of the 15th century. It was considered impregnable, and was built using the natural levee of the surrounding marshlands and river. When it was attacked by the army of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (who ruled Japan in the latter half of the 16th century) it was besieged by over 20,000 soldiers. The castle did not fall even when it was flooded by water drawn in from the nearby river. After that it was rumored that the castle had been able to withstand the flood because it floats on water. The largest turret in Oshi Castle is Gosankai Yagura, although it was demolished in the latter half of the 19th century when political power changed from the Edo shogunate to the Meiji government, due to its condemnation as a symbol of the samurai. The existing turret was reconstructed in 1988.

Info taken from Japan National Tourist Association Website.

Encounter With the Samurai

Last Sunday, I was glad to experience again a Japanese festival. That day was a day filled with the Samurai (侍). Gyoda City, where my company's office is located at, drew the local population and a few people from neighboring cities to witness their festival and commemoration of the attack of their very own Castle. It actually felt like in the Edo period (江戸時代 / Edo jidai). Here are some of the pictures.

Photo ops for the people infront of the entrance gate facing the bridge.

Historical firing of rifles, as depicted during the Edo period.

Photo ops for spectators.

3 Monkeys 三猿

The famous 3 monkeys.

見猿聞か猿言わ猿
【みざるきかざるいわざる】
(exp, noun) see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil
Taken from Nikkou Shrine.

Onsen 温泉

The Onsen. Probably, one of "only or originated in Japan thing," that this country is proud boasting about. The kanji of onsen is derived from on- (温 / yu), which means hot water or bath and -sen (泉 / sen), which means "izumi" or spring or fountain. Onsen literally means fountain of hot water. Onsen is actually a pool of hot water either artificially sourced out from local water pipes, such as in hotels, or coming from rivers, streams, lakes, etc., such as for huge and/or country side onsen resorts. For foreigners alike, onsen may not be as interesting for you as you have to dip in a communal bath naked. Men's area is separated from women, however, there are some highly priced special onsens which cater to both sexes.

According to Japanese, a bath in the onsen relieves stress and rejuvenates health. But for me, it may be less effective and despite the so-called health benefits, I personally got some scratches and itch after. A lukewarm-watered onsen may be a catalyst for bacteria and other things. There are various type of facilities inside an onsen resort. One of them is the pool with treated herbs, which bring an aroma of stress relieving smell. The other one is the semi-charged onsen pool. Yes, basically electrically charged ones. Dipping in feels like being electrocuted. Other onsens have lukewarm water varying about 30-40 degrees. Some pools are treated with "what on Earth substances are these," varying from brown to different colors, aroma and health benefits.

Onsen resorts in Japan are a hit especially during the Winter Season because most skiing resorts have embedded amenities to such. However, during these times, onsen pools are crowded.

As a foreigner, there are a lot of rules to observe when entering such facility, especially if it is your first time. Below are the do's and dont's.

From Top-leftmost to bottom-right.

1. 壷風呂のひとり占め
tsubofuro no hitori tsume
Do not occupy jar baths alone.

2. サウナで居眠り
sauna de inemuri
Do not fall asleep in the Sauna.

3. 脱衣室で携帯
datsuishitsu de keitai
Do not use your mobile phone on the dressing room.

4. カランの席取り
karan no seki tori
Do not reserve the shower places.

5. お風呂で泳ぐ
ofuro de oyogu
Do not swim on the bathing area.

6. 走りまわる
hashirimawaru
Do not run around.

7. かけ湯をしない
kakeyu wo shinai
Do not pour the hot water (as if you are taking a bath).
(Hot water in this area is only used to pour hands, legs and the like in order to test the temperature of the water.)

8. 浴槽にタオルを入れる
yokusou ni taoru wo ireru
Do not use towel in the bathtub.

Image courtesy of Yuyu Travel Magazine.

Winter Season

Things I hate during Winter.

1. It's hard to wake up every morning. Being a tropical person, we have this attitude that we tend to extend our sleep if we feel cool or even cold. Waking up in the morning is the toughest challenge during winter season.

2. Bills will increase. Gas bills especially for those who use propane gas installed in homes for their heaters. If you use a kerosene heater, it will cost you around 90-100 yen per liter of kerosene. Thus, electricity bill also increases as I use another halogen heater in my room. Water heaters use propane gas. So the more you use water to indulge yourself in the heat of the water, the more water and gas is consumed. You will feel lonely this season because celebrates Christmas totally different from we Filipinos celebrate, so phone bills and landline bills will surely jack up.

3. Always feel sleepy. Japanese say that if its cold, they feel awake. I always explain to my colleagues that most Filipinos feel the opposite. The colder it gets, the more we tend to hibernate like snakes and bears.

4. If snow falls in Kantou area, expect train delays and disruptions and traffic accidents in major highways. So prepare for an alternate route.

5. Difficult and dangerous to walk and bike in streets when snow falls.

6. Wearing a heavy set of clothing. Imagine, I wear four layers of clothes for work. Undergarment, long sleeves, suit, and jacket for the body. Aside from that, for the bottoms, you need a pair of 5-toe socks and warm tights. Plus, for the head, you need a bonet, earplugs, and muffler. And of course, your gloves.

7. The need to constantly apply lotion or moisturizer all over your body. The chilling cold may leave your skin dry and cracked especially your lips.

8. Tough for drying clothes from laundry. For those who are near the coin laundry shop, you are lucky. Daylight during winter is shorter, thus, its difficult to dry your laundried clothes in the open sun. Thus, the temperature may not be suited to dry your clothes.

9. Nosebleed and watery nose. Yes, you will get nosebleeds and watery nose during the cold season.

So fellow tropical-dwelling people, prepare yourself for a chilling winter season.

Culture Day (文化の日)

Taken last 2007's Bunka no Hi (Culture Day) in Hitotsubashi University in my former place, Kunitachi City. Taken from picture archives.

Trekking in Japan

(That's Mt. Fuji。Taken from the top of Mt. Yunomaru.)

I have always been a not so avid fan of nature get-away adventures like climbing and trekking (登山 / tozan). But last month, I was finally able to experience trekking. It was in Mt. Takao (高尾山) in Hachioji City (八王子市), Tokyo, and Mt. Yunomaru (湯ノ丸山) in Tomi City (東御市), Nagano Prefecture (長野県).

Mt. Takao
Getting there is easy using the train. Using the Keio Line, get off at Takaosanguchi Station (高尾山口駅), which is the last station. Using the Chuo Line (中央線), get off at Takao Station (高尾駅) then transfer to Keio Line (京王線) going to Takaosanguchi. There are a few restaurants along the way and at the summit (山頂 / sanchou). So don’t worry about decent food to eat when at the summit. But it is advisable to bring some snacks and bottled water to quench your thirst and hunger along the way. We decided to take the chair lift because it was scarier compared to the cable car. Cable car and chairlifts have the same prices. Single trip (片道 / katamichi) is 470 yen and roundtrip (往復 / oufuku) is 900 yen. Along the way when riding the chairlift, a photographer takes a photo of the passengers (乗客 / jyoukyaku). The picture can be bought at the summit or at the base station at 900 yen per piece. We took Trail #1, since it is the easiest and had the most attractions along the way. Trail #1 is around 1 hour to ascend. Funny thing about it was it took us 90 minutes to climb the summit. Well, because of obvious reasons, we are not avid fans of trekking, took stops for endless picture taking and constant sight-seeing. We were surprised to see that most kids as little as 7 years old and old people don’t seemed to look tired. Trail #1 involves a series of temples (お寺 / otera) and many markers about insects and birds that thrive within the area. The weather was cool and cloudy that time so it was a perfect day to climb. But we were not able to see Mt. Fuji since the horizon was blanketed with clouds. There are plenty of valuable facts in Mt. Takao Information Center about the history of Mt. Takao and its longed-nose scary god Tengu (天狗), who is believed since the ancient times to guard the mountain. We took Trail #4 when we descended (下山 / gezan) as we could pass a hanging bridge. The trail was a little slippery and narrow as people share a small road to cross upon. A visit to the monkey park (猿園 / saruen) was also interesting as you can observe a troop of monkeys in their natural behavior.

Mt. Yunomaru


A Japanese friend took us for a 2 hour drive to this mountain in Tomi City bordering Gunma Prefecture (群馬県). This was probably the most difficult trek I had. A slope of roughly about 40 to 45 degrees was really tough to climb. From below, it seemed easy but the trek to the summit took us 2 hours. We were even exhausted and our legs felt tired already when we climbed the first leg of the trek. Yunomaru slopes serve as a skiing resort during winter so the degree of its slope is really difficult to climb. Our Japanese friend was very kind to inform us about the different trees, shrubs, insects and fruits that we can find along the way. That was the first time I ate small wild blueberries and raspberries straight from the shrub. Also, foliage (紅葉 / kouyou), or the change of colors of the leaves was already visible in most trees and shrubs as it was already autumn. We took occasional 2 to 3 minute stops to quench our thirst and have picture taking of course. We reached the summit at 2,098.6 meters. From atop, we were able to see Mt. Fuji, and the rest of the Japan Alps (上高地 / kamikouchi) within the Nagano and Gunma Area. We stayed for 2 hours on the summit taking pictures and enjoying the picturesque view. Descending only took us 45 minutes. Then, a dip in a local onsen (温泉) was a perfect way to relieve the stress of our tired feet and legs. Afterwhich, shopping for Nagano omiyage (お土産) in one of the nearby stops.


(Article as published in Jeepneypress Japan)

Rittou 立冬

The last breath of autumn. The entire country again embarks to embrace the chilling season of winter. November 13, 2008 marks the official start of winter. They call it rittou (立冬). To tell you the truth, since the middle of October, I already used my kerosene heater everytime the temperature drops to 10 degree Celcius every night. The official start of winter is just about to begin and yet here I am 50 kilometers north of Tokyo bracing the cold temperature already where typical Japanese would only describe as cool temperature.

Goodluck to the rest of tropical people living in Kantou, Touhoku and Hokkaidou Area and enjoy the winter season.

Persimmon 柿

My co-teachers gave these 3 pieces of persimmon (柿 / kaki).　It was my first time to taste persimmon. It tasted like pear (梨 / nashi). I ate 4 slices of persimmon this lunch because after my colleagues was able to find out that I made another round of extra sliced persimmon, they gave me the rest of the remaining dessert. In addition, the school nurse gave me these 3 pieces of persimmon.

Grilled Fish in Miso Paste

School Lunch for October 31, 2008.
Grilled fish in miso paste, rice, pork wanton soup and whatever vegetables. :-D